Request and Response:
Dear,
Further to your Freedom of Information enquiry as above, I can confirm that the event was organised by the West Bromwich BID which is a limited company that is not part of Sandwell Council and, therefore, Sandwell Council is not accountable for its expenditure. No fee was paid by Sandwell Council to Sam Bailey, Signature or guest celebrities as part of the event.
The contact details for West Bromwich BID are as follows:
New Market Hall
Kings Square
West Bromwich
B70 7NW
Lisa Hill – West Bromwich Town BID Coordinator
Mobile:- 07572 121906
Email:-
I trust this information is of assistance but if you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should be submitted within two months of the date of receipt of the response to your request, and should be addressed to:
Information Management Unit
Sandwell Council House
Freeth Street
Oldbury
West Midlands
B69 3DE
Email –
If you are not content with the outcome of an internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF
Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.
Kind Regards
I wish to request, under the Freedom of Information Act, that you supply me
with:
The total fee paid by Sandwell Council to Sam Bailey and Signature the
guest celebrities who were present at the switching on of the Christmas
lights in West Bromwich. Please see below:
http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2015/11/26/pictures-x-factor-winner-sam-bailey-turns-on-west-bromwich-christmas-lights/
*Public Interest*
I believe there is a strong public interest in releasing this information
since it will promote greater transparency in government and greater
accountability in the conduct of those who hold public office.
The information requested is not reasonably accessible by other means to
the best of my knowledge.
*Commercial interests*
I do not believe that any of the information I have requested is exempt
from disclosure as a result of the exemption provided by section 43 of the
Act. However, should you judge that parts of the material requested would
come under this exemption, I request that you *redact the relevant
sections* and
release the documents in their entirety.
For example, should you believe that the identification of suppliers that
may result from disclosing the invoices received would prejudice that
company's commercial interests, then I request that you redact the details
of the supplier from the documents you release.
*Confidentiality issues*
Exemptions on the 'information being provided in confidence' do not apply.
The Information Commissioner advises, "information which is protected from
disclosure by an obligation of confidence must have the necessary 'quality
of confidence'" (*Freedom of Information Act Awareness Guidance No 2*).
Where it is considered that under the FOI Act certain parts of documents
requested breach confidentiality issues, I would request that these
sections be redacted and the documents be released in their entirety.
Redacting personal information is a common practice - It is not acceptable
to refuse to release a document simply because it contains elements of
personal information that could be redacted.
*Data protection issues.*
I am not requesting personal information. Where necessary personal
details may be redacted from any documents that you release.
Redacting personal information is a common practice - It is not acceptable
to refuse to release a document simply because it contains elements of
personal information that could be redacted.
*Processing of these requests*
I would like to receive this information by email, sent to:
Further to section 16 of the FOI Act (duty to provide advice and
assistance), if you have any queries relating to these requests or need
clarification on any issue, I would be grateful if you could contact me (
).
I would like to request that any refusal to any part of the above requests
(including on cost grounds) be accompanied by a recommendation of how the
request may be modified so as to be granted.
I would be grateful if you could confirm receipt of this email and provide
me with FOI reference number(s) as soon as possible.
With thanks,
If you wish to receive further information in regards to this request or wish to submit a Freedom of Information Request please forward your request to or Information Management Unit, Sandwell Council House, Freeth Street, Oldbury, West Midlands, B69 3DE.